Hybrid Banknote With Electronic Indicia Using Near-Field-Communications

ABSTRACT

A hybrid high-security document includes a document and one or more independent light-emitting modules disposed on or embedded in the document. Each module comprises an antenna with multiple turns, an electronic circuit, and a light emitter mounted and electrically connected on a substrate separate from the document. The electronic circuit is responsive to electrical power provided from the antenna to control the light emitter to emit light. The electronic circuit can include a memory storing information relevant to the hybrid high-security document or its use. The information can be accessed by external readers providing electromagnetic energy to the hybrid high-security document. The hybrid high-security document can be a hybrid banknote.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/324,578, filed Apr. 19, 2016, titled “HybridBanknote with Electronic Indicia using Near-Field-Communications,” thecontent of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to high-security documents such ascurrency and particularly to banknotes having electronically controlledinorganic light-emitting diodes embedded in the banknotes operated usingnear-field communications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Monetary instruments issued by governments such as money or currency areused throughout the world today. Government-issued currency typicallyincludes banknotes (also known as paper currency or bills) havingvisible markings printed on high-quality paper, plastic, or paperimpregnated with other materials, such as plastic. The visible markingsindicate the denomination (value) of the banknote and include a serialnumber, decorations such as images, and anti-counterfeiting structuressuch as special threads, ribbons, and holograms. Currency circulateswithin an economic system as a medium of monetary exchange having afixed value until it is physically worn out. Worn out banknotes aregenerally returned by banks or other financial institutions and thenreplaced.

Other privately issued monetary instruments, such as credit cards andgift cards, are also used by the public. These cards typically includean electronically accessible value (e.g., stored in a magnetic stripe orin a chip in the card) or an electronically accessible account that canbe used to make purchases. However, the electronically stored value ofthe card is not readily viewed by a user.

In the past, banknotes have not been electronically enabled. However,more recently there have been proposals to use RFID (radio-frequencyidentification device) in banknotes to validate the banknote and avoidcounterfeiting. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,391,688 and U.S. Pat. No.8,791,822 disclose systems for currency validation. U.S. Pat. No.5,394,969 describes a capacitance-based verification device for asecurity thread embedded within currency paper to defeat counterfeiting.Security systems for scanning a paper banknote and checkingidentification information in the banknote (e.g., the serial number)with a network-accessible database have been proposed, for example inU.S. Pat. No. 6,131,718.

Near-field-communications (NFC) systems also provide an electronicresponse to electromagnetic stimulation for enabling financialtransactions by employing a set of electromagnetic communicationprotocols that enable two electronic devices, one of which is usually aportable device such as a smartphone, to communicate by bringing themwithin 4 cm of each other. These devices use electromagnetic inductionbetween two loop antennae to communicate and transmit power, for exampleas disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,688,270. Thus, at least one of thedevices can operate without a stored energy device such as a battery. Inall of these systems, however, there is no way to visibly andelectronically test attributes of a banknote.

There remains a need, therefore, for currency with visible indicia thatis electronically accessible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hybrid high-security document havingone or more light-emitting modules disposed on or embedded in a documentwith or without visible markings. The document can be a conventionalprinted document such as a label, a commercial document such as acertificate, a stock certificate, a bond, or a bearer bond or agovernment-issued document such as a passport, a monetary instrument, ora license and can include additional anti-counterfeiting features suchas are found in high-security documents. In an embodiment, and asdescribed herein, a banknote is a high-security document. Otherhigh-security documents include passports and identification cards suchas driver's licenses or other government-issued identification.

Each light-emitting module comprises an antenna with multiple turns, anelectronic circuit, and a light emitter mounted and electricallyconnected on a substrate separate and independent from the documentexcept insofar as the one is affixed to the other. The electroniccircuit is responsive to electrical power provided from the antenna tocontrol the light emitter to emit light. In an embodiment, theelectronic circuit and LED are powered solely by the energy receivedfrom the antenna. The electronic circuit can include a memory storinginformation relevant to the hybrid high-security document or its use.The information can be accessed by external readers providingelectromagnetic energy to the hybrid high-security document.

In another embodiment, a multi-element light-emitting system comprises aplurality of independent light-emitting modules. Each independentlight-emitting module includes an antenna with multiple turns, anelectronic circuit, and a light emitter mounted and electricallyconnected on a separate substrate. The independent light-emittingmodules are disposed in a pattern to form a visible indicator.

In an embodiment, a hybrid banknote mat includes a mat circuit and anantenna. The mat circuit provides a continuous or pulsed NFC signalhaving a pulse rate of ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred pulses persecond or greater.

A method of making a hybrid high-security document includes providing adocument having visible markings, providing a source having a pluralityof printable light-emitting modules, and printing one or more of thelight-emitting modules onto the document or onto a flexible substrate,ribbon, film, or thread subsequently incorporated in, laminated to, orwoven into the document.

A method of using a hybrid banknote comprises providing a hybridhigh-security document, exposing the hybrid high-security document to anelectromagnetic field so that the antenna provides power to theelectronic circuit and causes the light emitter to emit light, andobserving the light or detecting the light with a light detector.

In an embodiment, the electronic circuit stores information, and themethod further comprises providing the electromagnetic field, readingthe information, and displaying the information on a display ortransferring the information to a computer system.

The electronic circuit can include a memory, for example a read-onlymemory or a write-once memory storing one or more values. Multiplevalues can be stored in a sequential order corresponding to a temporallysequential set of values and can monotonically decline in magnitude.Values stored in the hybrid high-security document can be electronicallyread by a teller machine having a reader and the value of thehigh-security document displayed on the teller machine. In a furtherembodiment, the teller machine can write a value to the high-securitydocument using a writer. In an embodiment, the electronic circuitcontrols the written value so that it must be equal to or smaller than avalue already stored in the high-security document.

A user can insert a received hybrid high-security document into a tellermachine, input an input value to the teller machine, and the tellermachine can write a value derived from the input value into the hybridhigh-security document. The input value can represent the value of amonetary transaction, for example a purchase of goods or payment of debtand the difference between the input value and the current value can bewritten into the hybrid high-security document.

The present invention provides an anonymous, government-issued currencywith anti-counterfeiting light emitters whose value or indicia can bevisibly ascertained and can be modified electronically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe present disclosure will become more apparent and better understoodby referring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the front and back sides of a hybrid banknotein an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a light emitter with a fracturedtether according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the front and back sides of another embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of operating an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 6-7 are flow charts illustrating methods of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of making anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic illustrations of antennae according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11A is a perspective according to an embodiment of the presentinvention and FIG. 11B is a corresponding, less-detailed and moreaccurate perspective at a larger scale;

FIG. 12 is a cross section of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow graph illustrating a method of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a table showing design alternatives according tocorresponding embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a timing diagram according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 17 and 18 are flow charts illustrating methods of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the present invention;and

FIGS. 20 and 21 are cross sections illustrating arrangements of theantenna and integrated circuits of the present invention.

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, in which like reference charactersidentify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, likereference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar,and/or structurally similar elements. The figures are not drawn to scalesince the variation in size of various elements in the Figures is toogreat to permit depiction to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, in an embodiment of the present invention a hybridhigh-security document 10 includes a document 20 and one or moreindependent light-emitting modules 60. The document 20 can be aconventional printed document such as a label, a commercial documentsuch as a certificate, a stock certificate, a bond, or a bearer bond ora government-issued document such as a passport, a monetary instrument,or a license and can include additional anti-counterfeiting featuressuch as are found in high-security documents. A high-security documentis a document that includes a security feature and the document 20 canbe a high-security document. In an embodiment, and as described herein,a banknote 20 is a high-security document. Other high-security documents20 include passports and identification cards such as driver's licensesor other government-issued identification. As used herein, the term“banknote” is used synonymously with high-security document and anyreference to “banknote” can also be a reference to a high-securitydocument. The banknote 20 can be a government-issued banknote 20 and caninclude visible markings 22 such as value indicators, decorativeelements, and anti-counterfeiting structures or markings.

The light-emitting modules 60 are disposed on or embedded in thebanknote 20, for example disposed on or embedded in the material onwhich the visible markings 22 are printed or disposed on or embedded inother elements of the banknote 20, such as a thread, ribbon, film,decal, or flexible substrate. Each light-emitting module 60 comprises anantenna 50 with multiple turns, an electronic circuit 40, and a lightemitter 30 mounted and electrically connected on a substrate 62 separateand independent from the document except insofar as the one is affixedto the other. Referring also to FIG. 2, each light-emitting module 60includes an antenna 50, for example a near-field communication (NFC)antenna or an RFID antenna that provides electrical power to theelectronic circuit 40 in response to received electromagnetic radiationso that the electronic circuit 40 is responsive to electrical powerprovided from the antenna 50 to control the light emitter 30 to emitlight. In an embodiment, the electronic circuit 40 and light emitter 30are powered solely by the energy received from the antenna 50 and theelectronic circuit 40 or hybrid high-security document 10 does notinclude any devices for storing energy between uses, such as a battery.

The electronic circuit 40 can include a memory 44 for storinginformation. The electronic circuit 40 is connected to a light emitter30 and includes circuitry for controlling the light emitter 30 to emitlight when electrical power is provided from the antenna 50. Thelight-emitting module 60 can include a power converter that converts asignal with a relatively high current and low voltage to a signal with arelatively high voltage and low current. The light-emitting module 60can also or alternatively include an acoustic wave filter 52 forconverting the impedance of the electrical power provided from theantenna 50 in response to received electromagnetic radiation. Theacoustic wave filter 52 can be the power converter. The electroniccircuit 40, light emitter 30, and optional acoustic wave filter 52 canbe mounted or otherwise disposed on a substrate 62, for example bymicro-transfer printing. The antenna 50 can be formed on or in ordisposed on the substrate 62. Electrical wires 64 can also be formed atleast partly on or in the substrate 62 to electrically connect theantenna 50, optional acoustic wave filter 52, electronic circuit 40 andlight emitter 30.

The electronic circuit 40 (and optional memory 44) can be, or is a partof, or can include an integrated circuit and, in an embodiment, can beor include a small micro-transfer printable integrated circuit such as achiplet, or a semiconductor for example having an area less than100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 250, or 100 squaremicrons. In a further embodiment, the light-emitting module 60 can be asmall micro-transfer printable module, for example formed on asemiconductor or other substrate such as glass or plastic having an arealess than 100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 250, or100 square microns. The acoustic wave filter 52 can be a surfaceacoustic wave filter (SAW) or bulk acoustic wave filter (BAW), forexample including AlN, and the light emitter 30 can be an inorganiclight-emitting diode (iLED) 32, for example made with a compoundsemiconductor such as GaN or AlGaN.

Micro-transfer printable iLED 32 devices (or other devices e.g.,chiplets, integrated circuits, or acoustic wave filters 52) can beformed in or on a source wafer 36 over a sacrificial portion of asacrificial layer that, when etched, forms a tether 34 (FIG. 3)connecting the micro-transfer printable device to an anchor portion ofthe wafer. When transferred by a printing stamp from the wafer to adestination substrate, such as the substrate 62, the tether 34 isfractured so that a micro-transfer printed device has a fractured tether34, as illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a simple illustration of an iLED32 with a fractured tether 34 over a sacrificial portion of a sourcewafer.

The substrate 62 of the light-emitting module 60 can be at least one ofglass, plastic, polymer, resin, silicon, a semiconductor, and a compoundsemiconductor, or other suitable substrates. Any one or all of theoptional acoustic wave filter 52, light emitter 30, and electroniccircuit 40 can be assembled on the substrate 62 using micro-transferprinting and electrically interconnected with electrically conductivewires 64 using photolithographic methods and materials to form thelight-emitting module 60. The light-emitting module 60, with its variouscomponents including the substrate 62, can, in turn be micro-transferprinted or otherwise printed, transferred, or assembled onto anothersubstrate such as the banknote 20 to form the hybrid banknote 10 or onto an intermediate substrate such as a tape or reel for high-speedprinting onto a sheet or web, such as a sheet or web of banknotes 20 orflexible substrates incorporated into banknotes 20. Referring to FIG. 4,in an embodiment of the invention, the banknote 20 includes a flexiblesubstrate, ribbon, film, or thread (all of which are indicated as ribbon70 herein) incorporated in, laminated to, woven into, or hot-pressmounted onto the banknote 20. The one or more independent light-emittingmodules 60 are mounted on, embedded in, or micro-transfer printed ontothe flexible substrate, ribbon 70, film, or thread. The flexiblesubstrate, ribbon 70, film, or thread can include paper, plastic,impregnated paper, or metal foil and can be electrically insulating.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the hybrid banknote 10includes a plurality of light-emitting modules 60 and there is noelectrical interconnection between the various light-emitting modules 60so that each light-emitting module 60 is electrically separate,independent, and disconnected. Each light-emitting module 60 iselectrically independent of all of the other light-emitting modules 60and, other than, in one embodiment, having a common substrate 62 orbeing mounted on a common ribbon 70 or banknote 20, can also bespatially separated and physically independent and separated, althoughthe light-emitting modules 60 can be arranged in a desired pattern. Thelight-emitting modules 60 can each have a separate substrate 62 (FIG.12) different from the banknote 20. The light-emitting modules 60 can bedisposed to form at least one of a character, a graphic indicator, anicon, a number, a letter, and a pictogram or indicates a value, a date,or a person. The graphic indicator can have semantic content, forexample indicating a value, a date, or a person. For example, in FIG. 4,the light-emitting modules 60 form a line. The banknote 20 can be agovernment-issued banknote 20 or other high-security document havingvisible markings 22 and the one or more light-emitting modules 60 can bedisposed in a location corresponding to a portion of the visiblemarkings 22 to highlight or otherwise indicate the portion of thevisible markings 22. For example, the light emitter 30 can underline orsurround a graphic element of the visible markings 22. As shown in FIG.1, the light-emitting modules 60 form the number 500, which matches thevisible marking 22 printed on the banknote 20.

Referring to FIG. 5, in an example embodiment, the banknote is abanknote 20 having a denomination (e.g., five) and the light-emittingmodules 60 are disposed to form the numeral 5 on the ribbon 70 laminatedonto or woven into the banknote 20 making the hybrid banknote 10. Whenthe hybrid banknote 10 is placed near a near-field-communication field,for example a near-field-communication field generated by a smartphoneor other NFC device, the antenna 50 of each light-emitting module 60will generate electrical power, optionally voltage amplified andfiltered by the acoustic wave filter 52 (FIG. 2), to the electroniccircuit 40 to cause the light emitter 30 to emit light. Because thesignal harvested from the antenna 50 is relatively small, it is helpfulto have as long an antenna 50 extending with as many turns as possiblein the light-emitting module 60 to provide enough power to light thelight emitters 30. Because the light-emitting module 62 can be small andthe antenna 50 needs to have a length matched to the frequency of thereceived signals, it can be necessary to have a large number of antennaturns. In an embodiment, the necessary number of turns are provided in asingle layer; in another embodiment, multiple layers of antenna turnsare provided. The signal received typically has a relatively smallervoltage and larger current. Thus, in an embodiment, the acoustic wavefilter 52 is also a power converter 52 that converts the received signalto a signal with a relatively larger voltage and smaller current moresuitable for providing power to the electronic circuit 40 and forlighting the light emitter 30. In a further embodiment of the presentinvention, the acoustic waver filter 52 is smaller than conventionalacoustic waver filters, for example having an area less than 100, 50,20, or 10 square microns suitable for micro-transfer printing andunsuitable for conventional transfer or printing methods and having areduced number of acoustic resonant filter modes, for example a singledominant resonant mode. Although the light-emitting modules 60 areelectrically separate and independent, the NFC field will provide powerto all of the light-emitting modules 60 at about the same time so thatthe light emitters 30 will emit light visibly simultaneously, in thiscase forming a visible numeral 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, in an embodiment of the present invention, abanknote 20 is provided in step 100, for example using conventionalcurrency materials and printing technologies, and a light-emittingmodule source wafer (e.g., source wafer 36, FIG. 3) is provided in step110, for example using photolithographic materials and techniques.Alternatively, the light-emitting modules 60 are provided insurface-mount accessible form, or on a tape or film. The light-emittingmodules 60 are printed from the light-emitting module source wafer 36 orother source to the banknote 20 in step 120 to form the hybrid banknote10. Alternatively, referring to both FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a banknote 20 isprovided in step 100, for example using conventional currency materialsand printing technologies, and a light-emitting module source isprovided in step 110. A ribbon 70 is provided in step 130 and thelight-emitting modules 60 are printed or otherwise disposed onto theribbon 70 in step 140, for example by micro-transfer printing, bysurface mount techniques, or from a tape and reel. The ribbon 70, withthe light-emitting modules 60, is then integrated into the banknote 20in step 150 to form the hybrid banknote 10 for example by lamination orhot-pressing. This process has the advantage of more-readily controllingthe substrate (ribbon 70) on which the light-emitting modules 60 aremicro-transfer printed and using conventional methods for integratingthe ribbon 70 into the banknote 20.

In an embodiment, the one or more light-emitting modules 60 includedifferent inorganic light-emitting diodes 32 that emit different colorsof light, for example red, green, and blue light. The differentlight-emitting modules 60 can be disposed in groups for a desiredeffect, for example each numeral or graphic element in the disposedarrangement of light-emitting modules 60 can have a different color. Inan embodiment, the electronic circuit 40 controls the light emitters ina light-emitting module 60 to flash once or to flash sequentially.

FIG. 9A illustrates a receiving antenna 50 with multiple turns(windings, or coils) on the substrate 62 for a light-emitting module 60.FIG. 9B shows a typical NFC reader antenna 50 found in a smart cellulartelephone or other NFC device. FIG. 9B illustrates the approximate sizeof the light-emitting module 60 relative to the size of the NFC readerantenna (FIG. 9A). As is apparent from the illustration, the physicalsize of the light-emitting module 60 is very small relative to the NFCreader antenna.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustrating in more detail the electroniccircuit 40. The antenna 50 is electrically connected to the input of theacoustic wave filter 52 which filters and impedance converts theelectrical signal from the antenna 50. The antenna 50 converts anexternally generated NFC magnetic field into electrical power and theacoustic wave filter 52 is tuned to the desired electrical signal fromthe antenna 50 and multiplies the received electrical signal to avoltage sufficient to operate the electronic circuit 40. The output ofthe acoustic wave filter 52 is electrically connected to the electroniccircuit 40, in this case including a rectifier and voltage multiplierthat provides electrical current and a sufficient voltage through acurrent limiter to cause the inorganic light-emitting diode 32 to emitlight. For example, the electronic circuit 40 can rectify a 13.56 MHzradio frequency signal into DC voltage, increases the voltage further,for example with a voltage doubling circuit, and regulates the currentto the iLED 32. The electronic circuit 40 can be a small integratedcircuit such as a chiplet or, as shown, an application specificintegrated circuit 66.

The acoustic wave filter 52 is operated at a dimension of one-halfwavelength and is used to implement an impedance transformer similar tothat using ordinary electrical transmission lines. The acoustic wavefilter 52 can operate at much smaller dimensions than electricaltransmission lines utilizing only metallic conductors and typicaldielectric mediums. The acoustic velocity of the acoustic wave filter 52is only on the order of 3000 to 6000 meters per second and can thereforeimplement a half-wave transmission line in a distance of 0.5 mm or lessfor a given NFC frequency such as 13.56 MHz with a quality factor (Q) onthe order of 1000 or more. The half-wave element may be acousticallygrounded at two ends and driven near one end by the very low impedanceantenna 50. A high impedance output is available at the center of theacoustic wave filter 52. The output voltage of antenna 50 is on theorder of a few millivolts which is insufficient to power the electroniccircuit 40. The acoustic wave filter 52 converts the low antenna 50voltage via the half-wave transmission line and its associated high Q toa much higher output voltage of 0.5 volt or greater which is sufficientto energize the electronic circuit 40.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are perspectives illustrating the antenna 50,electronic circuit 40, acoustic wave filter 52 and light emitter 30disposed on the substrate 62 to make up the light-emitting module 60.For example, the light-emitting module 60 structure of FIGS. 11A and 11Bcan have a length and a width less than 0.5 mm and a height less than 25microns. Because the light-emitting module 60 structure is relativelysmall and does not require any external electrical connections, it isvery robust under mechanical stress, for example when folded, spindled,or crumpled. The banknote 20 tends to be more flexible than thelight-emitting module 60 (although the elements and substrate 62 of thelight-emitting module 60 can be somewhat flexible) and willpreferentially flex, reducing the stress on the light-emitting modules60.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in crosssection. As shown in FIG. 12, the light-emitting module 60 is disposedon a ribbon 70 that is laminated to the banknote 20 (not shown) with thelight-emitting module 60 between the ribbon 70 and the banknote 20. TheiLED 32 emits light through the ribbon 70 so the ribbon 70 must be atleast partially transparent to the frequency of emitted light, forexample 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 95% transparent. This constructionprotects the light-emitting module 60 from environmental or mechanicaldamage. Such a module can be assembled using compound micro-assemblytechniques. For example, a glass wafer is provided with a patternedsacrificial layer and a substrate layer to form the substrate 62. TheiLED 32, an integrated circuit incorporating the electronic circuit 40,and the acoustic wave filter 52 are each micro-transfer printed fromindividual different source wafers to the glass wafer (substrate 62).Using photolithographic techniques, electrically conductive wires 64 arepatterned over the components and the glass wafer, for example byevaporating or sputtering an aluminum metallization layer andpattern-wise etching (using optically sensitive photoresist and opticalmasks) the metal layer to form the antenna 50 and wires 64. A dielectricis deposited, for example silicon dioxide using sputtering orevaporation, or by coating or laminating a layer of a dielectricmaterial such as SU8. The process can be repeated multiple times to makea multi-layer antenna 50 with an increased number of turns. Electricalconnections (wires 64) can be formed by etching vias and patterningdeposited metal in the vias. A passivation layer can be provided forenvironmental protection. The substrate 62 and the components can have athickness of only a few microns and the completed structure can have athickness of less than 35 μm. The light-emitting modules 60 can beformed over a patterned sacrificial layer for micro-transfer printing.The patterned sacrificial layer is etched to form the tethers 34 and themicro-transfer printable light-emitting modules 60 (as in FIG. 3). Astamp is pressed against the light-emitting modules 60, fractures thetether 34, and transfers the light-emitting modules 60 to a destinationsubstrate such as the ribbon 70 (step 140 of FIG. 7).

Referring to FIG. 19 in more detail, the light emitter 30 (e.g., aniLED), the acoustic wave filter 52, and the ASIC 66 can be formed indifferent materials for example AlN for the acoustic wave filter 52, acompound semiconductor such as GaAs or InGaN for the light emitter 30(e.g., an iLED), and silicon for the ASIC 66. A source wafer (e.g., iLEDsource wafer 36) for each of these devices in a suitable material isformed in steps 300, 310, and 320, respectively. An intermediatesubstrate (e.g., substrate 62) is provided and the light emitters 30,the acoustic wave filter 52, and the ASIC 66 are each micro-transferprinted onto the substrate 62 in steps 330, 340, and 350, respectively,but can be transferred in any desired order. If any or all of thedevices are micro-transfer printed, each will include a fractured tether34 (FIG. 3). Alternatively, other transfer methods can be used. Afterthe devices are all transferred to the substrate 62, electricalconnections can be formed, for example using photolithographic methodsto form electrical connections such as wires 64, in step 360, as well asthe antenna 50.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, in further embodiments of the presentinvention, the antenna 50 is a multi-layer antenna. Since the signalcaptured by the antenna 50 is partly dependent on the number of turns,or coils or windings, in the antenna 50, it can be useful to increasethe number of such turns to increase the signal magnitude. In thesimplified illustration of FIG. 20, multiple layers 51 of antenna turnsare separated by dielectric layers 54 with each antenna layer 51connected to an adjoining antenna layer 51, for example through a via(not shown). In an embodiment, adjoining antenna layers 51 are connectedalternately near the edge and near the center of the antenna 50, thusreducing the number of layers and vias needed. In an embodiment, thenumber of layers 51 in the multi-layer antenna 50 is even, as shown inFIGS. 20 and 21 so that each end of the loop antenna 50 can beelectrically connected to the electronic circuit 40, forming a loopantenna 50 or providing a relative ground for the electronic circuit 40.The electrical connections to the electronic circuit 40 from the antenna50 can be at or near the center of the substrate 62, as shown. Thus, inan embodiment, the antenna layers 51 are alternately connected near theedge of the antenna 50 and near the center of the antenna 50, where thecenter of the antenna 50 is near the center of the spiral formed by theturns of the electrical conductor forming the antenna 50. Moreover, inan embodiment the antenna layer 51 farthest from the electronic circuit40 is electrically connected to the electronic circuit layer nearer thecenter of the antenna layer 51 than the edge of the antenna layer 51.The dielectric layers 54 keep the various layers 51 of antenna turnsfrom electrically shorting together or electrically shorting to thelight emitters 30, the acoustic wave filter 52, the ASIC 66, or thewires 64 (collectively devices, the wires 64 are not shown in FIGS. 20,21). The dielectric layers 54 can be formed by coating, embossing, andfilling, e.g., with curable conductive ink, photolithographic depositionand patterning, or laminating subsequent layers of materials, forexample a curable resin or other plastic layer and can encapsulate theelectrical conductor making up the antenna 50. A laminated layer caninclude an antenna layer 51. The vias between and connecting layers 51can be formed with photolithography or can be a part of the layerapplied.

In the embodiment of FIG. 20, the devices are formed or disposed on thesubstrate 62 and the layers 51 of antenna turns are formed in the samelayer and above the devices so that the electronic circuit 40 is locatedbetween the antenna portion and the banknote 20 and at least a portionof the antenna 50 is located on a side of the electronic circuit 40opposite the banknote 20. In a particular embodiment, the devices aredirectly beneath (or above) one or more of the antenna turns, reducingthe area of the light-emitting modules 60. The substrate 62 is thendisposed on or adhered to the ribbon 70 in step 370, for example bymicro-transfer printing, or by other means, so that the light emitters30 emit light through the ribbon 70. In the embodiment of FIG. 21, thesame process can be used to make the multi-layer antenna 50 and devicestructure, but the top antenna 50 layer is disposed or adhered to theribbon 70, so that the light emitters 30 emit light in a directionopposite the ribbon 70. In this case, a portion of the antenna 50 islocated between the integrated circuit 66 and the banknote 20 (ribbon70). In step 380, the ribbon 70 is incorporated into a banknote 20.

A plurality of substrates 62 can each be provided and the light-emittingmodule 60 made individually on each substrate 62. In a more efficientprocess, the substrate 62 is originally much larger than thelight-emitting module 60 and multiple light-emitting modules 60 areformed on a common substrate 62 at the same time using the same processsteps, such as micro-transfer printing, photolithographic steps, andcoating. The substrate 62 can then be diced, for example by scribing andbreaking, diamond saw cutting, or laser cutting, to form the individuallight-emitting modules 60, such as surface-mount devices. However, it isan advantage of the present invention that very small light-emittingmodules 60 can be formed so that conventional methods of separatingindividual light-emitting modules 60 or disposing light-emitting modules60 onto a ribbon 70 can be difficult. Therefore, in an embodiment of thepresent invention, the light-emitting modules 60 are micro-transferprintable light-emitting modules 60 formed over sacrificial portions ofa sacrificial layer and fastened with tethers 34 to anchors on thesubstrate 62. The individual light-emitting modules 60 are then disposedon the ribbons 70 using micro-transfer printing stamps to contact thelight-emitting modules 60, the tethers 34 are fractured, thelight-emitting modules 60 are transferred to the ribbon 70, thelight-emitting modules 60 are applied to the ribbon 70 to adhere them tothe ribbon 70 (for example on an adhesive layer on the ribbon 70), andthe stamp is removed.

In the case in which the substrates 62 are diced to provide individuallight-emitting modules 60, the devices can be disposed on the substrates62 using micro-transfer printing. In this case, to reduce the number ofprint steps, it is useful to provide a substrate 62 whose size is on theorder of the source wafer 36 size so that many devices from each sourcewafer 36 can be transferred in a single stamp transfer step. However, inan embodiment in which the light-emitting modules 60 are alsomicro-transfer printed (rather than just the devices from the sourcesubstrate 36), it is useful to provide a substrate 62 whose size is onthe order of a web of ribbons 70 that are destination substrates for themicro-transfer process. For example, if the ribbons 70 are 2 mm in widthand it is desired to micro-transfer print five hundred light-emittingmodules 60 at a time, a web of ribbons 70 can be one meter in width andthe substrate 62 can be a similar size, thereby reducing the number ofmicro-transfer printing steps necessary to dispose a light-emittingmodule 60 on each ribbon 70.

In other embodiments of the present invention, one or more lightemitters 30, an integrated circuit 66 or, optionally, an acoustic wavefilter 52 are micro-transfer printed onto a substrate 62 to form alight-emitting module 60 and the light-emitting modules 60 incorporatethe substrate 62. In a further embodiment, a plurality of the one ormore light emitters 30, integrated circuits 66 or optional acoustic wavefilters 52 are micro-transfer printed onto the substrate 62 to formlight-emitting modules 60. The light-emitting modules 60 are, in turn,micro-transfer printed onto the banknote 20 or onto a flexiblesubstrate, film, thread, or ribbon 70 subsequently incorporated in,laminated to, or woven into the banknote 20. A plurality of thelight-emitting modules 60 can be micro-transfer printed from thesubstrate 62 onto a plurality of the banknotes 20 or onto one or more offlexible substrates (e.g., ribbon 70) in a single step, for example in aweb and a roll-to-roll process. In an embodiment, the substrate 62 hasan area or dimension that is equal to or larger than a correspondingarea or dimension of the documents 20, e.g., banknotes 20 or flexiblesubstrates, e.g. ribbons 70. For example, if the ribbons 70 or banknotes20 are provided in a web, the substrate 62 can have a width or lengthdimension that is at least as large as the width of the web. Thesubstrate 62 can have an extent (for example an x or y dimension, lengthor width, but not a thickness or z dimension) or area that is within arange of one tenth to ten times an extent or area of the flexiblesubstrate (for example a width of a web), within a range of one quarterto four times an extent or area of the flexible substrate, within arange of one half to two times an extent or area of the flexiblesubstrate, or within 25%, 10%, or 5% of an extent or area of theflexible substrate. By providing a substrate 62 having a size that isthe same order of magnitude, comparable, or larger than the destinationsubstrate of the micro-transfer printing step, the number of separateprint steps can be reduced since each print step can transfer morelight-emitting modules 60.

Referring to FIG. 13, in an embodiment of the present invention, ahybrid banknote 10 according to the structure of FIG. 12 can beconstructed by first providing a roll of polyimide film (1302). Thelight-emitting modules 60 are micro-transfer printed onto separatedportions of the polyimide layer (1304), which acts as the ribbon 70.Alternatively, the different components of the light-emitting module 60are micro-transfer printed onto the roll of polyimide film itself andprocessed photolithographically to complete the light-emitting modules60 so that the polyimide film serves as the substrate 62 (not shown) andcan be a common substrate for multiple light-emitting modules 60. Theroll of polyimide file is sprayed with a protective layer (1306) and athermoset adhesive layer (1308) and slit into strips (1310). Each stripis then cut into portions suitable for each banknote 20, applied to thebanknote 20, and heated to complete the hybrid banknote 10 (1312).

In the present invention, it is important that the antenna 50 providesufficient power to the electronic circuit 40 to cause the light emitter30 to emit light. FIG. 14 is a table presenting various design choicesto enable a corresponding variety of functional embodiments of thepresent invention. Table 14 provides example antenna 50 dimensions basedon the power required by an iLED 32 load. As shown, small antennas 50suitable for small light-emitting modules 60 generate small outputvoltages that can be increased using acoustic wave filters 52 operatingin a resonance condition. An increased voltage of 0.5 V is sufficient tobe converted with a charge pump in the electronic circuit 40 to drive aniLED 32 at 0.3 μA at 3.3 V.

The light-emitting module 60 structure of the present invention disposedon the banknote 20 can be generally employed in multi-elementlight-emitting systems. For example, in an embodiment of the presentinvention, a multi-element light-emitting system comprises a pluralityof independent light-emitting modules 60, each independentlight-emitting module 60 including an antenna 50 with multiple turns, anelectronic circuit 40, and a light emitter 30 mounted and electricallyconnected on a separate substrate 62. The independent light-emittingmodules 60 are disposed in a pattern to form a visible indicator and canbe disposed on a variety of underlying structures including, but notlimited to, banknotes 20.

The light-emitting modules 60 of the present invention emit light whenthe light-emitting modules 60 are located in an NFC magnetic field.Referring to FIG. 15, such a field can be provided by a hybrid banknotemat 80, comprising a mat circuit 84 and an antenna 50 (not shown butsimilar to those found in existing NFC terminals or smart phones, e.g.,FIG. 9B). Although illustrated as a largely planar mat, the form factorof the mat 80 is not limited to any specific form factor and can besimilar in structure to any NFC reader/writer. The mat circuit 84provides a continuous or pulsed NFC signal, the pulsed NFC signal havinga pulse rate of ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred pulses per second orgreater. This pulse rate is much higher than those found in conventionalNFC terminals or smart phones so that the light-emitting modules 60 ofthe present invention will emit light at a sufficient frequency as to bevisible to the human eye. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the NFC field canoperate for 2 msec out of every 20 msec and a 50 Hz frequency. Each suchNFC circuit can drive thousands of light-emitting modules 60 to emitlight, enabling a wide variety of patterns, applications, and effects.The mat 80 can include a display 82 responsive to the mat circuit 84.The hybrid banknote 10 of the present invention can also be interactedwith by conventional NFC devices.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit40 stores information in the memory 44, for example serial numberinformation, value information, manufacturing information, usageinformation, or location information. This information can be retrievedusing RFID or NFC techniques and read, for example by the mat 80 and theinformation, or an aggregation of the information, displayed on the mat80 with the the display 82. For example, the mat display 82 can displaythe sum of the values of the hybrid banknotes 10 located on or very nearthe mat 80. The mat 80 can also include switches, buttons, or otheruser-interactive devices for controlling the mat 80 to perform variousdesired functions or select options. For example, options can includedisplaying value, serial number, or manufacturing date, location of thehybrid banknote 10. Information can be encrypted, can be changed (if thememory 44 includes writable or rewritable memory). Thus, in anembodiment, a device, for example the mat 80, can write information intothe electronic circuit. The information can also be communicated to andstored in an information registry independent of the hybridhigh-security document 10 or banknote 20. If the information is a value,the banknote 20 can then have the stored value rather than adenomination printed on the banknote 20.

The mat 80 can be a part of a cash register or management system and candetect the value and serial identification of the hybrid banknotes 10 inthe system to provide a currency inventory. Such a cash register systemcan provide security and theft detection. Hybrid banknotes 10 that havemissing or non-functional light-emitting modules 60 can be detected bycomparing the number of detected light-emitting modules 60 to theexpected number of light-emitting modules 60. A hybrid banknote 10 caneven be deactivated or the light-emitting modules 60 can be placed in adeactivated state.

In further embodiment of the present invention and as illustrated inFIG. 17, a method of using a hybrid banknote 10 comprises the steps ofproviding a hybrid banknote 10 in step 200, exposing the hybrid banknote10 to an electromagnetic field so that the antenna 50 provides power tothe electronic circuit 40 and causes the light emitter 30 to emit lightin step 210, and observing or detecting the light in step 220. In analternative embodiment and as shown in FIG. 18, the electromagneticfield is provided by the mat 80 in step 215, the electronic circuit 40stores information, for example in the memory 44, the information isread from the hybrid banknote 10 in step 217, and the display 82 isresponsive to the information. Alternatively, the information from thehybrid banknote 10 is transferred to a computer system for action orprocessing in step 230. Information can also be written into a hybridbanknote 10.

The electronic circuit 40 can also be an integrated circuit, for examplea small chiplet, suitable for micro-transfer printing. The electroniccircuit 40 can include digital circuits or logic (for example CMOScircuits) and power circuits (for example for driving an LED). Theelectronic circuit 40 can include information storage circuits, a statemachine, or a stored program machine to implement the desiredfunctionality of the hybrid banknote 10. The electronic circuit 40 canread or write information such as currency values, process information,respond to input and provide output.

In a further embodiment, the iLEDs 32 and electronic circuit 40 are toosmall to be readily visible with the unaided human eye. Furthermore, theiLEDs 32 and electronic circuit 40 can be located in areas of thebanknote 20 that include visible markings 22 to further obscure thepresence of the iLEDs 32 and electronic circuit 40, as well as any wires64. In one embodiment, any of the iLEDs 32, electronic circuit 40, orwires 64 are marked with visible markings 22. For example, ink can beprinted over the non-emitting side of the iLEDs 32, electronic circuit40, or wires 64 to obscure them or otherwise make them a part of thevisible markings 22 on the banknote 20. Since the iLEDs 32, electroniccircuit 40, or wires 64 can each be very small, for example having asize in the micron range, they can be effectively invisible to theunaided human eye. For example, the one or more inorganic microlight-emitting diodes 32 or the electronic circuit 40 of the hybridbanknote 10 can have a width from 2 to 5 μm, 5 to 10 μm, 10 to 20 μm, or20 to 50 μm, a length from 2 to 5 μm, 5 to 10 μm, 10 to 20 μm, or 20 to50 μm, or a height from 2 to 5 μm, 4 to 10 μm, 10 to 20 μm, or 20 to 50μm.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the hybrid banknote 10includes visible markings 22 that do not include a value. Such a hybridbanknote 10 can be a non-denominational banknote 20 that either has anassigned value or a variable value stored in a memory 44 in theelectronic circuit 40. The memory 44 can be a read-only memory thatencodes a desired assigned value. The assigned value can be a currencyvalue or can include an electronic serial number, or both.

In the case in which the assigned value is variable, the memory 44 canbe a write-once memory 44 that stores multiple values in memorylocations that are ordered in a sequential order, for example by memoryaddress. The write-once memory 44 can, for example, employ fuses thatare electrically destroyed and cannot be rewritten. Alternatively, thememory 44 can be a non-volatile read-write memory. In this case, thevalue stored by the hybrid banknote 10 can change over time. The currentvalue can be modified by, for example, a teller machine. If a change inthe current value of the hybrid banknote 10 is desired, an input valuecan be input by a user with an input device. A teller machine controllercan then calculate or otherwise determine a new stored value responsiveto the input value and store the new value in the hybrid banknote 10,for example by communicating the new stored value to the electroniccircuit 40 which then writes the new stored value in the memory 44. Inan embodiment, the electronic circuit 40 only writes new stored valuesin the memory 44 that are smaller than the current value. In anotherembodiment, the electronic circuit 40 can write new stored values in thememory 44 that are larger than the current value, or that are largerthan the current value but are limited to a maximum value. The change incurrent value of the hybrid banknote 10 can represent or be the resultof a financial transaction, for example a purchase or a financialexchange with or facilitated by a financial institution such as a bankor government institution such as a central bank. Read-only memories,write-once memories, and read/write memories together with controllersand read/write circuitry can be formed in integrated circuits andelectrical circuits. Devices for currency handling, optical inspection,displays, input devices (such as keyboards or touch screens) can be madeusing electromechanical, electronic, and optical technologies.

An assigned or current value can be programmed into the electroniccircuit 40 or an associated memory 44 (also micro-transfer printed if itis a separate integrated circuit or chiplet) either before or after theelectronic circuit 40 or memory 44 is micro-transfer printed.Alternatively, an external device such as a hybrid banknote tellermachine (that can be a part of or include, for example, a mat 80) cancommunicate with the electronic circuit 40 to write an assigned orcurrent value to the hybrid banknote 10. A hybrid banknote 10 tellermachine can also communicate with a central or remote database toestablish the legitimacy of the hybrid banknote 10, track its use orlocation, or approve a transaction and record or approve thetransaction. The communication can include an electronic serial number.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/743,981, filed Jun. 18, 2015,entitled Micro Assembled Micro LED Displays and Lighting Elements,incorporated herein by reference describes micro-transfer printingstructures and processes useful with the present invention. For adiscussion of micro-transfer printing techniques see also U.S. Pat. Nos.8,722,458, 7,622,367 and 8,506,867, each of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. Micro-transfer printing using compoundmicro assembly structures and methods can also be used with the presentinvention, for example, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/822,868, filed Aug. 10, 2015, entitled Compound Micro-AssemblyStrategies and Devices, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

As is understood by those skilled in the art, the terms “over”, “under”,“above”, “below”, “beneath”, and “on” are relative terms and can beinterchanged in reference to different orientations of the layers,elements, and substrates included in the present invention. For example,a first layer on a second layer, in some embodiments means a first layerdirectly on and in contact with a second layer. In other embodiments, afirst layer on a second layer can include another layer there between.

Having described certain embodiments, it will now become apparent to oneof skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concepts ofthe disclosure may be used. Therefore, the invention should not belimited to the described embodiments, but rather should be limited onlyby the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Throughout the description, where apparatus and systems are described ashaving, including, or comprising specific components, or where processesand methods are described as having, including, or comprising specificsteps, it is contemplated that, additionally, there are apparatus, andsystems of the disclosed technology that consist essentially of, orconsist of, the recited components, and that there are processes andmethods according to the disclosed technology that consist essentiallyof, or consist of, the recited processing steps.

It should be understood that the order of steps or order for performingcertain action is immaterial so long as the disclosed technology remainsoperable. Moreover, two or more steps or actions in some circumstancescan be conducted simultaneously. The invention has been described indetail with particular reference to certain embodiments thereof, but itwill be understood that variations and modifications can be effectedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

PARTS LIST

-   10 hybrid banknote/hybrid high-security document-   20 banknote/document/high-security document-   22 visible markings-   30 light emitter-   32 inorganic light-emitting diode-   34 tether-   36 iLED source wafer-   40 electronic circuit-   44 memory-   50 antenna-   51 antenna layer-   52 power converter/acoustic wave filter-   54 dielectric layer-   60 light-emitting module-   62 substrate-   64 wires-   66 ASIC-   70 ribbon-   80 mat-   82 display-   84 mat circuit-   100 provide banknote with markings step-   110 provide module wafer step-   120 micro-transfer print modules on banknote step-   130 provide ribbon step-   140 micro-transfer print modules on ribbon step-   150 integrate ribbon in banknote step-   200 provide hybrid banknote step-   210 expose hybrid banknote to NFC field step-   215 expose hybrid banknote to NFC field from mat step-   217 read information from banknote step-   220 observe/detect emitted light step-   225 observe display step-   230 transfer information to computer system step-   300 provide iLED source wafer step-   310 provide SAW source wafer step-   320 provide ASIC source wafer step-   330 micro-transfer print iLED to intermediate substrate step-   340 micro-transfer print SAW to intermediate substrate step-   350 micro-transfer print ASIC to intermediate substrate step-   360 form interconnections and antennas step-   370 micro-transfer print modules to ribbon step-   380 integrate ribbons into banknote step

1. A hybrid high-security document, comprising: a document; and one ormore independent light-emitting modules disposed on or embedded in thedocument, each module comprising: an antenna with multiple turns, anelectronic circuit, and a light emitter mounted and electricallyconnected on a substrate separate from the document, wherein theelectronic circuit is responsive to electrical power provided from theantenna to control the light emitter to emit light.
 2. The hybridhigh-security document of claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit isformed in a micro-transfer printed integrated circuit having a fracturedtether, wherein the light emitter is formed in a micro-transfer printedsemiconductor having a fractured tether, or wherein the light-emittingmodule is a micro-transfer printed module having a fractured tether.3-4. (canceled)
 5. The hybrid high-security document of claim 1,comprising a power converter that converts a signal with a relativelyhigh current and low voltage to a signal with a relatively high voltageand low current.
 6. The hybrid high-security document of claim 5,wherein the power converter is a micro-transfer printed power converterhaving a fractured tether.
 7. The hybrid high-security document of claim1, comprising an acoustic wave filter, a surface acoustic wave filter,or a bulk acoustic wave filter.
 8. The hybrid high-security document ofclaim 7, wherein the acoustic wave filter has a single dominant acousticresonant filter mode.
 9. The hybrid high-security document of claim 7,wherein the acoustic wave filter is a micro-transfer printed acousticwave filter having a fractured tether.
 10. The hybrid high-securitydocument of claim 1, comprising a flexible substrate, ribbon, film, orthread incorporated in, laminated to, or woven into the document andwherein the one or more independent light-emitting modules are mountedon, embedded in, or micro-transfer printed onto the flexible substrate,ribbon, film, or thread. 11-12. (canceled)
 13. The hybrid high-securitydocument of claim 1, comprising a plurality of light-emitting modules.14. The hybrid high-security document of claim 13, wherein thelight-emitting modules of the plurality of light-emitting modules areelectrically independent and electrically disconnected. 15-19.(canceled)
 20. The hybrid high-security document of claim 1, wherein theelectronic circuit is responsive to power received by the antenna tocause the light emitter to emit light or to send an electromagneticsignal.
 21. The hybrid high-security document of claim 1, wherein theantenna is a multi-layer antenna formed in multiple layers.
 22. Thehybrid high-security document of claim 21, wherein the multi-layerantenna includes an even number of layers.
 23. The hybrid high-securitydocument of claim 21, wherein at least a portion of the antenna islocated between the electronic circuit and the document.
 24. The hybridhigh-security document of claim 21, wherein the electronic circuit isbetween at least a portion of the antenna and the document.
 25. Thehybrid high-security document of claim 21, wherein the antenna layersare alternately connected near the edge of the antenna and near thecenter of the antenna. 26-30. (canceled)
 31. A method of making a hybridhigh-security document, comprising: providing a document having visiblemarkings; providing a source having a plurality of printablelight-emitting modules; and disposing one or more of the light-emittingmodules onto the hybrid document or onto a flexible substrate, ribbon,film, or thread subsequently incorporated in, laminated to, or woveninto the document. 32-33. (canceled)
 34. The method of claim 31,comprising micro-transfer printing one or more light emitters and anintegrated circuit onto a substrate to form a light-emitting module andthe light-emitting modules incorporate the substrate.
 35. The method ofclaim 31, comprising micro-transfer printing an acoustic wave filteronto the substrate to form the light-emitting module.
 36. The method ofclaim 34, comprising micro-transfer printing the light-emitting modulesfrom the substrate onto the document or onto a flexible substrate,ribbon, film, or thread subsequently incorporated in, laminated to, orwoven into the document. 37-43. (canceled)